Conservatives say DiNapoli must return union $$$

The Conservative Party is calling on Tom DiNapoli, a Democrat, to return campaign contributions he received from labor unions.

A NYPIRG analysis of campaign filings (reported this morning by the Daily News) found DiNapoli got 25 percent of his money during the last campaign cycle from organized labor groups (12.5 percent of his funds came from public sector unions). This isn’t that surprising: DiNapoli was described as an “unabashed” labor candidate by former AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes. Unions, of course, are pretty good at giving money to lots of political candidates, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who in the aggregate has collected more union money than DiNapoli.

But Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long said DiNapoli “may be refusing to stand up for taxpayers because of the heavy contributions by labor unions,” noting DiNapoli’s full-throated opposition to a including a defined-contribution option in a new pension tier, something all labor groups have opposed.

“He should return the contributions now, and if he refuses to, it certainly looks like it is a pay-for-play scheme perpetrated on unwilling taxpayers. His role as an independent watchdog becomes very questionable as long as he continues to accept and keep contributions from organizations that ignore the consequences placed on taxpayers footing the bills,” Long said in a statement. “Instead of kowtowing to the organized labor unions, Comptroller DiNapoli should be leading the charge for pension reform! He is, after all, the one who sends the bills to local governments year after year to pay for the pensions. It is time for Comptroller DiNapoli to break free from the union bosses and support the people who are forced to pay the bills.”

A DiNapoli aide declined to comment on the charge.

“My decisions have nothing to do with money and everything to do with what’s right for people across New York,” the comptroller told the Daily News today. “I was elected to be independent and tell it straight, and that is exactly what I’ve been doing.”